Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC

Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,494 shares during the quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $29.66 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.14. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.03 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.